Basketball hero Eddie Jordan could put Rutgers program back on track, friends say

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

Eddie Jordan has never been a head basketball coach at a college. He has been fired from three head coaching jobs in the NBA. But he remains a living symbol of Rutgers’ glorious, yet long-gone past. Now, the university is hoping he is the right man to save the Scarlet Knights men’s basketball team, and that the accolades of former teammates will prove a truer measure of his value than his up-and-down coaching record.

Jordan, a star point guard on Rutgers’ 1976 Final Four team and a longtime NBA assistant and head coach, is on the verge of completing a deal to take over the embattled men’s basketball program. Multiple sources have confirmed to The Record that barring any late setbacks, Jordan is expected to be hired as early as today, with a news conference to follow later in the week. The deal likely will be for around five years and in the range of $800,000 to $900,000 per season.

“It’s almost a no-brainer,” said former Rutgers great Phil Sellers, one of Jordan’s teammates on that historic team. “[Jordan’s] connection to the university can help bring back whatever alumni might have turned their backs on the program.”

Sellers said he has received numerous emails from dissatisfied alumni and season-ticket holders who are upset with the current situation. Coach Mike Rice was fired April 3 after a firestorm caused when ESPN aired video footage of him throwing basketballs at players and using homophobic slurs during practice.

“We’ve got to catch these people before they get too far away,” Sellers said. “We need somebody in place who can grab them back.”

The hiring of the well-liked and well-respected Jordan, an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, could have a healing effect on a program and a university still reeling from the scandal.

“Eddie has a great smile,” said Sellers, who roomed with him at Rutgers for two years. “I could see him recruiting my kid in my home and doing the things a head coach needs to do to convince a parent that we’re going to do the right things for your child.”

“He’s just a guy who’s passionate about basketball,” said Steve Hefele, another teammate from that Final Four squad. “He’s a guy that always wanted to coach. I think it’s great that he’s coming back. I think it’s just what the program needs.”

Jordan has been an NBA head coach with Sacramento, Washington and Philadelphia, but never a college head coach. But he began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Rutgers and then-coach Tom Young in 1984. Young also coached that Final Four team, which was undefeated until losing to Michigan in the national semifinals. He last coached at the college level in 1991-92, when he was an assistant under Bob Wenzel.

Jordan is a proponent of the Princeton-style offense, and was brought in by then-Lakers coach Mike Brown before this season to assist with installing it. Brown was fired in November and replaced by former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.

Jordan “was always talking to the coaches,” Hefele recalled, “about why they did this or why they did that. Being the point guard, you’ve got to have a little bit of a head for the game and know where everybody is supposed to be, not just yourself. He was always asking questions.”

“I think it’s great,” said longtime Rutgers radio analyst Dick Lloyd, who was the team’s head coach before Young took over. Lloyd has known Jordan since the 1970s.

“He’s a Rutgers guy,” Lloyd said of Jordan. “He’s emotionally attached to the school. … Sometimes the timing works out. There was a time when I don’t think he was interested in making the move.”

Indeed, Jordan briefly was a candidate for the previous opening for this job, which was filled by Rice in April 2010. At that time, he had a meeting with Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, who resigned this month in the wake of the scandal. But it was unclear then how much interest either side had.

There is plenty of interest now.

“The timing has worked out perfectly for him and Rutgers,” Lloyd said.

The amount of time away from the college game doesn’t faze Sellers.

“Eddie can do it,” Sellers said. “Eddie has charisma. He can recruit. He knows what to say, what not to say. … I think he’s the only one that can really bring back the program to where it should be.”

Hefele said, “He makes you feel he’s interested in what you’re telling him and he’s a fun guy to be around.”

Lloyd described Jordan as a “very unpretentious guy, very down to earth, a very steady type of guy and that’s the way he played.”

Jordan was a second-round draft pick of Cleveland in 1977 and played in the NBA from 1977 to 1984, and Hefele believes his playing and coaching experience in the pros will be helpful in recruiting.

“The type of kids you want to get to lift your program,” Hefele said, “are thinking about playing at that [NBA] level. With Ed’s experience, I think they’d respect what he had to say.”

“This is what the school needs,” Sellers said.

Staff Writer Tara Sullivan contributed to this article.

Former Rutgers star Eddie Jordan could be named the men's basketball coach at the university as early as today.

Basketball hero Eddie Jordan could put Rutgers program back on track, friends say

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

Eddie Jordan has never been a head basketball coach at a college. He has been fired from three head coaching jobs in the NBA. But he remains a living symbol of Rutgers’ glorious, yet long-gone past. Now, the university is hoping he is the right man to save the Scarlet Knights men’s basketball team, and that the accolades of former teammates will prove a truer measure of his value than his up-and-down coaching record.

Jordan, a star point guard on Rutgers’ 1976 Final Four team and a longtime NBA assistant and head coach, is on the verge of completing a deal to take over the embattled men’s basketball program. Multiple sources have confirmed to The Record that barring any late setbacks, Jordan is expected to be hired as early as today, with a news conference to follow later in the week. The deal likely will be for around five years and in the range of $800,000 to $900,000 per season.

“It’s almost a no-brainer,” said former Rutgers great Phil Sellers, one of Jordan’s teammates on that historic team. “[Jordan’s] connection to the university can help bring back whatever alumni might have turned their backs on the program.”

Sellers said he has received numerous emails from dissatisfied alumni and season-ticket holders who are upset with the current situation. Coach Mike Rice was fired April 3 after a firestorm caused when ESPN aired video footage of him throwing basketballs at players and using homophobic slurs during practice.

“We’ve got to catch these people before they get too far away,” Sellers said. “We need somebody in place who can grab them back.”

The hiring of the well-liked and well-respected Jordan, an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, could have a healing effect on a program and a university still reeling from the scandal.

“Eddie has a great smile,” said Sellers, who roomed with him at Rutgers for two years. “I could see him recruiting my kid in my home and doing the things a head coach needs to do to convince a parent that we’re going to do the right things for your child.”

“He’s just a guy who’s passionate about basketball,” said Steve Hefele, another teammate from that Final Four squad. “He’s a guy that always wanted to coach. I think it’s great that he’s coming back. I think it’s just what the program needs.”

Jordan has been an NBA head coach with Sacramento, Washington and Philadelphia, but never a college head coach. But he began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant with Rutgers and then-coach Tom Young in 1984. Young also coached that Final Four team, which was undefeated until losing to Michigan in the national semifinals. He last coached at the college level in 1991-92, when he was an assistant under Bob Wenzel.

Jordan is a proponent of the Princeton-style offense, and was brought in by then-Lakers coach Mike Brown before this season to assist with installing it. Brown was fired in November and replaced by former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.

Jordan “was always talking to the coaches,” Hefele recalled, “about why they did this or why they did that. Being the point guard, you’ve got to have a little bit of a head for the game and know where everybody is supposed to be, not just yourself. He was always asking questions.”

“I think it’s great,” said longtime Rutgers radio analyst Dick Lloyd, who was the team’s head coach before Young took over. Lloyd has known Jordan since the 1970s.

“He’s a Rutgers guy,” Lloyd said of Jordan. “He’s emotionally attached to the school. … Sometimes the timing works out. There was a time when I don’t think he was interested in making the move.”

Indeed, Jordan briefly was a candidate for the previous opening for this job, which was filled by Rice in April 2010. At that time, he had a meeting with Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, who resigned this month in the wake of the scandal. But it was unclear then how much interest either side had.

There is plenty of interest now.

“The timing has worked out perfectly for him and Rutgers,” Lloyd said.

The amount of time away from the college game doesn’t faze Sellers.

“Eddie can do it,” Sellers said. “Eddie has charisma. He can recruit. He knows what to say, what not to say. … I think he’s the only one that can really bring back the program to where it should be.”

Hefele said, “He makes you feel he’s interested in what you’re telling him and he’s a fun guy to be around.”

Lloyd described Jordan as a “very unpretentious guy, very down to earth, a very steady type of guy and that’s the way he played.”

Jordan was a second-round draft pick of Cleveland in 1977 and played in the NBA from 1977 to 1984, and Hefele believes his playing and coaching experience in the pros will be helpful in recruiting.

“The type of kids you want to get to lift your program,” Hefele said, “are thinking about playing at that [NBA] level. With Ed’s experience, I think they’d respect what he had to say.”